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Topic: 100 best Boeing products (Read 23518 times)

90: Boeing Y1B-9Biplane bomber from 1930. Experimented with liquid cooled engines; USAF didn't bite, and production models were switched to more battleworthy aircooled engines. The first of the five Y1B-9As entered service with the 20th Bomb Group on 14 September 1932, with all being in service by the end of March 1933. The new bomber proved impossible to intercept during air exercises in May 1932, strengthening calls for improved air defense warning systems. Two B-9s were destroyed during crashes in 1933, one of the accidents being fatal, while the remaining aircraft were gradually phased out over the next two years, with the last being withdrawn on 26 April 1935.

89. Boeing symbol (1997)It's terrible. In 1997 designer Rick Eiber joined the Boeing logotype to a new symbol inspired by the classic McDonnell Douglas logo, which was in turn derived from the Douglas Aircraft logo. What does it mean? Well the circle with the swish is probably derived from a plane swooping around the earth (Douglas logo, 1930s) and the tick is original but the motion comes from McDonnell's 1950s "first free man in space" design. Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas in 1997; the two companies had usually been intense rivals over the previous 60 years.

88. Boeing P-8 PoseidonStill in development, the Poseidon is a submarine hunting jet, similar to but less advanced than -- not the mention cheaper and better engineered -- the British Nimrod2. Had BAE been able to find a US site for building Nimrods in the US at the time, they probably would have won that, meaning that this plane is a direct result of the failure and utlimate outsourcing of the British defence industry. Amusingly, a BAE subcontractor in China sold Boeing defective parts for the P-8 in 2011, halting development temporarily. Why so low? Well, it's cheap and on time, but it can't do much submarine hunting without the UAVs or the cold war, so it's p pointless.The P-8 features the Raytheon APY-10 multi-mission surface search radar. A cargo bay holds 2 Triton UAVs as part of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance drone programme. A short bomb bay for torpedoes and other stores opens behind the wing. The US Navy has ordered 120 of these Poseidons, with a further 25 ordered by India. They are due to enter service next year. Test flights of P-8s took place at RAF Lossiemouth in April.

I'm not even into planes at all, but the law firm I'm working at until next week has worked for them since 1916, so I have a lot of exposure to them at the moment. Got to take the 787 for a test flight the other week too ^_^

87: Boeing Model 95Built as a cargo plane in the mid to late 1920s, the Model 95 biplane was considerably larger than Boeing's previous efforts in this field, and used an all-metal hull. It could be specified with a 525hp Hornet engine or a 420hp Wasp engine. Several of these craft were used by the Honduras air force as bombers.

86: Avion Presidente JuarezThe Mexican presidential fleet is adapted for range and protection against humidity; it is considered by Jane's to be the best adapted government fleet for flying anywhere in Central or South America. Based on a 757, the main aircraft has been in continious use for nearly 35 years, but it is still in good nick. The twinjet can fly 6000 miles before needing to refuel, and the instruments are certified for protection against violent weather conditions including up to hurricane speed winds. In sharp contrast to the class obsessed Air India One, there are just 2 classes of accomodation aboart APJ.

85: Boeing-Stearman XA-21The Stearman Model X-100 was a 1937 competitor in an United States Army Air Corps competition for a twin-engined attack monoplane aircraft. It featured an unusual cockpit arrangement, much like those on most German World War II bombers designed during the interwar years such as those with the Condor Legion, with a streamlined greenhouse canopy enclosing both the pilot and bombardier stations. Following the success of adapting WW1 German planes in the US, and the ongoing influence of German planes in UK designs, it was thought that experimenting with their methods could lead to greater success domestically. It didn't.

84: Boeing X-32 "Monica", the Joint Strike FighterUgly fat-lipped squat little thing, this was Boeing's entry into the Joint Strike Fighter contest. Many companies took part in the first phase of this project, which involved drafting concept aircraft designs for submission to the Department of Defense. However on 16 November 1996, only Boeing and Lockheed Martin were awarded contracts, allowing them to produce two of their concept aircraft each. Each was awarded $750 million to produce their two aircraft – including avionics, software and hardware. This limitation promoted the adoption of low cost manufacturing and assembly techniques, allegedly.

The X-32 featured a large chin-mounted air intake, and a large one piece carbon fiber composite wing. The large intake did not contribute to the characteristically sleek look expected from a high-tech fighter, since it makes the aircraft look like your mother. The wing was trapezoidal, spanning 9.15 meters, with a 55-degree leading edge sweep and could hold up to 20,000 pounds of fuel. The prototypes that Boeing built actually failed the Navy's requirements so the contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin's F-35, which is gracefully being funded (read: a money black hole) by her majesty's ministry of defence.

83. Alconbury GremlinsThis good luck mascot -- a gremlin -- flew on all of the Boeing B-17 missions over Germany from 1942-1945. The crew was part of the 482nd Bomb Group (Heavy). The mascot was made locally by an unknown woman in the village near RAF Alconbury, for the Boeing mechanics who looked after the B-17s, and later for the crew themselves. The mechanics would then hide the gremlins in the aircraft when replacing parts and panels, so there would literally be gremlins rattling around during a flight.Although this gremlin was considered a good luck charm by the B-17 crew, the concept of gremlins became popular during World War II as creatures who were responsible for accidents that occurred during flight. Which isn't surprising when you look at it.

82: Boeing Model 6, B-1 SeaplaneThe Model 6 was the first commercial design for Boeing. The pilot sat in an open cockpit at the bow, and up to two passengers could be carried in a second open cockpit behind the first. Only a single aircraft was built, as Boeing had trouble selling it in a market flooded with war-surplus aircraft. In 1920, it was purchased by Edward Hubbard, above, who used it to carry air mail between Seattle, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia. It flew until 1930 before being preserved and put on display at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry in 1954.

81: Boeing Model 929, JetfoilCommercializing the emerging jet-foil concept, a boat which can raise itself above the waves and use a jet engine for bursts of speed when needed, from the original 1973 US navy boat was not easy. At once stage more than a dozen countries were involved in the design and procurement process. Boeing launched its first passenger-carrying waterjet-propelled hydrofoil in April 1974, which could carry between 167 and 400 passengers.An initial burst of enthusiasm dampened as it became clear that technologies such as hovercraft were often more suited for a wider range of capabilities. Jet-foils were noisy and created more spray, making passengers not enamored with them. They remain in industrial use in Japan where Kawasaki is pretty much the only worldwide new-build manufacturer.

80: Global Positioning Service SatellitesBoeing and the predecessor companies it ate have been involved with all GPS satellite programmes since 1974. As the prime contractor on Block I, Block II, Block IIA and Block IIF programs, the company has built 40 of the 62 GPS satellites launched since 1978, and has launched GPS satellites as Boeing since 1996. GPS is now pretty ubiquitous, despite the technology available for civilian use not being much better than cell triangulation at working out where you are, and funding cuts have pushed all alternatives like ESA Galileo or China's Compass off the table for the time being. It's Boeing's fault that retards in your neighbourhood can crown themselves mayor of the gym or some shit.Boeing is presently working on the final Block 2 GPS satellites, IIRF. 2 have gone up, 3 more have been built, and 2 more are on the way after that. Boeing's engineers have doubled the accuracy and reliability on these babies compared to their predecessors, and each satellite has a base rating of 12 years life, meaning they'll likely be up long past 2030.

79: Boeing-Bell Quad Tiltrotor concept helicopterFunding was cut for this aircraft in the last round of US defence cuts, which is a huge shame, as it would have been fucking cool. World combat would finally be like Halo or some shit. I MEAN LOOK AT IT. The QTR has a fuselage larger than the C-130, and the capability to strategically self-deploy - with a 20 ton payload - and move combat forces forward without the need for runways or airports.All variants proposed have a rear loading ramp that could carry 110 paratroopers or 150 standard-seating passengers. In cargo configuration, it would accommodate eight 463L pallets, and be able to disgorge one of the bloated Stryker APCs in use by amerifags. Air logistics desperately needs a military supply craft able to take up less ground space than a jumbo jet, and I hope the QTR sees the light of day in this role in the future.

78: Boeing 720A mid Jet Age (1959) liner designed for infrequent or cheap flights, the most interesting thing about this one being that it suffered a huge ~15% total hull loss incidence thanks to having a large presence in the Middle east during the 1970s. Only 154 were produced, but this still turned a profit for Boeing thanks to the absolute minimum of effort made building and flying them.4 engines, and only 1 set of emergency exits. Along with this plane, which was blown up midair by Lebanese hijackers, 10 were destroyed by bombs at Beirut airport while parked. 9 others were hijacked in the 1970s. The last 720 flew in September 2010 and is now in some obscure Canadian museum.